Topaz League Challenge
by UnfrozenPopsicle
Summary: A young boy from the Topaz region sets out on his Pokémon journey to prove everyone wrong. Original characters with some non-original characters making appearances. Region invented by the author. Rated T for language in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_-'Ello there! I know, it's been a while... sorry about that. I won't be finishing "Prelude," because I don't know... it's gonna turn out real bad, and I really wouldn't like to publish something bad. Excuse the inconvenient :/ for now, just enjoy this one. It's based on me and my friends, and a few existent characters. It's gonna be long and awesome (I WILL finish this one), so stay tuned, darlings! Oh, and I do not own Pokémon. ;)_

Matt had been running around his home town, Northwind Village, having fun with his father's bird Pokémon. He'd been 10 years old for a while now, but he was too shy to get a trainer license from Prof. Oak. He came by once a year to the Topaz region, and he had a summer home right there in Northwind Village. But Matt was just too shy for his own good; he couldn't bring himself to go to Oak's. He HAD to, though. His mother would kill him if he didn't.

Speaking of his mother, Matt had to get home quick, otherwise he would get in deep trouble. His mother HATED it when he didn't get home early. He quickly ran towards his house, which thankfully, wasn't that far from where he was.

"About time you got here, Matt. You were supposed to be here an hour ago! I was worried sick! You were with those nasty birds again, weren't you?"

"But Mom, there was an injured Taillow! I had to help him!"

"Pfft. Don't talk such nonsense. Unless you're planning to get your Pokémon license tomorrow, you're not going outside this house."

"But Mom! That's not fair! It's blackmail!"

"Shut up, Matt. Go to your room, and don't come out until you've gained some respect towards your elders."

Crestfallen, Matt went up the stairs and into his room. He couldn't deal with his mother anymore. It was hopeless. He decided he should get his Pokémon license tomorrow. If he did, he didn't have to deal with his mother's antics for a while! The thought of his mother acknowledging him and the badges he would earn on his Pokémon journey thrilled him to the very core. But he was tired, and it was quite late already, so he turned in for the night, hugging his favorite Wigglytuff doll, a present from his father.

* * *

Matt had barely slept last night, but he wasn't tired. He went into the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror to see if his change of heart about getting his Pokémon license had changed him physically. It was a long shot, he thought, but who knows? Everything is possible, or so they say. Black, curly-yet-straight hair, dark, watery eyes, tanned skin, he looked pretty much the same. He returned to his room, picked up an ice blue backpack and packed up everything he might need in his journey (including his favorite Wigglytuff stuffed doll). He left before his parents woke up, since he didn't want them nagging him for the last time in who knows how long.

After a bit of walking, he finally got to Professor Oak's summer house. He hesitated for a bit, but then said to himself, "Matt, don't be stupid, don't waste your chance to prove yourself!"  
He knocked on the door, and two minutes later, an aging man opened it.

"Uh... Hi! I'm, er, Matt, yeah! That's my name! Uh, I need a..."  
He had forgot what he needed from Oak. Great. Just what he needed.

"I suppose you're in need of a Pokémon license, is that right?" Professor Oak asked him.

"Right! I need one of those! And I was wondering if you could, um, give one to me?" Matt asked him nervously.

"Why of course! What did you say your name was, lad?"

"I'm Matt."

"Yes, yes. Of course. Come in, please."

They went inside the house, and Matt sat on a white leather sofa while the Professor searched for his license and Poké Balls. Suddenly, a door in the house creaked open, and a tall boy with spiky auburn hair and a purple shirt came out of the room.

"Hi! What's your name?" the spiky haired boy asked.

"I'm Matt. What's yours?"

"I'm Gary, I'm Oak's grandson. Nice to meet you!" he said before giving Matt a friendly handshake.

Professor Oak was back already with Matt's license and Poké Balls.

"Now remember, Matt, Pokémon are your friends. You must treat them like family, and you must cooperate and work alongside them to become a good Trainer. Remember that!" Oak said before giving Matt his Poké Balls and license.

Oak had remembered something. "Oh, dear me, I think I'm out of Pokémon already..."

"Don't worry, Gramps, I captured one yesterday, and I already have ten of the same species, so I can give one to Matt," Gary said before leaving to his room and returning with a black and gold Poké Ball.

"The Pokémon contained in this Poké Ball is an Igglybuff, a pink Normal type Pokémon with singing abilities. Take good care of it, and eventually it will evolve into a Jigglypuff!" Gary said excitedly before giving the Poké Ball to Matt.

"My first Pokémon! Thanks, Gary! Oh, and thanks, Professor!"

"Hey, it's no problem, kiddo. But of course, you'll never be as good as me!" Gary smirked.

"Now, Gary, no need to get cocky. As for you, Matt, you must head up north to Flowerbed Town, where your first Gym challenge awaits! You must follow the Jewel River to get there if you don't want to get lost on the way."

"I guess I'll be leaving now, then," Matt said. "Bye! Thanks for all the help!" he said before leaving.

Matt couldn't believe it. He was already a Pokémon Trainer! And he had his own Pokémon too!

"I choose you, Igglybuff!" he said before flinging the Poké Ball in front of him. A ray of white light came out of the Poké Ball and a round, pink Pokémon with a tuft of pink hair on its head materialized in front of him.

"Awww! You're adorable, Igglybuff!" he said before trapping Igglybuff in a hug.

"Iggly!" the Pokémon exclaimed in a cheerful tone, hugging him back. It smelled nice, like angel cake.

"So we gotta go up north to Flowerbed Town, I guess..."

"Buff! Iggly, Igglybuff!" the Pokémon squealed excitedly.

"We're off, then, to Flowerbed Town!"

Matt had never been so excited and nervous at the same time. He was finally a Pokémon Trainer! But he didn't know what dangers awaited him in the road... It didn't matter. He had to move on. And whatever happened, Igglybuff would be there for him, of course. When he really thought about it, it wasn't bad at all! So he pressed on northward, ready for whatever trials the road had in store for him.


	2. Chapter 2

_-Hai. You already know the drill, so just shut up and read already. I bet you're DYING to do so. xD this one's short and sweet, though._

Already in the grasslands that connect Northwind Village and Flowerbed Town, Matt and his Igglybuff walked excitedly towards the next town. Before he had started his journey, his father had teached him the basics about Pokémon, including how to catch them, where they appeared, the different types, their matchups, etcetera. But he still hadn't seen one!

"Oh, Igglybuff, I can't find anything! I wanna catch you a friend, and fast!"

"Iggly! Igglybuff!" the Pokémon started bouncing uncontrollably and pointing towards a long tuft of grass.

"Did you see something, Igglybuff?" Matt asked the Pokémon.

"Iggly!"

Suddenly, a small blue Pokémon that bounced on its tail appeared from the tuft of grass.

"Azurill!" the Pokémon cried aggressively. Matt couldn't wait to capture it.

"Igglybuff, go! Use your Pound attack!"

"Iggly! Buff!" the pink Pokémon cried before flinging its tiny body onto the other Pokémon. It missed, and the other Pokémon released a stream of bubbles from its mouth, hitting Igglybuff dead on.

"Oh no, Igglybuff! Are you ok?" Matt asked the Pokémon, his voice laced with worry.

"Iggly..." the Pokémon whimpered.

"The Pokémon around here sure are aggressive, aren't they? Looks like we have to be more careful..."

As soon as he said that, a giant squawking cloud moved towards them. Matt recognized them immediately: it was a flock of angry Swellow! They had to run!

Matt recalled Igglybuff into its Poké Ball before running away. Even the Azurill he had fought earlier was running along with them to get away from the Swellow flock.

They ran and ran until Flowerbed Town finally came into view. But Matt couldn't let the Swellow get into the town!

"Oh, what to do..." he asked himself.

The Azurill that ran with him blew a forceful jet of bubbles to distract the flock. It worked better than they thought! The Swellow, distracted, went after the bubbles. They were safe now! Azurill saved them!

But the tiny blue Pokémon was tired from all the running. Exhausted, the Azurill fell down on the ground, barely conscious. Matt ran towards the Pokémon, picked it up in his arms, and said to it "listen to me, Azurill, the only way I can save you is if you let me capture you. Is that ok with you?"

The Azurill hesitated, but finally let out a soft "Azu..." in reply. Matt took a Poké Ball from his pocket, pressed the button against Azurill's body and the Pokémon disappeared inside the Ball. Matt had captured his first Pokémon! In a really unconventional way, though... But it didn't matter now. He had to hurry to the Pokémon Center in Flowerbed Town and save the poor Azurill.


	3. Chapter 3

_- You know, it seems quite weird to get flamed for doing whatever the hell I want in a mostly OC fic. Want anime faithfulness? Go read the anime scripts, but don't hate. If you don't like it, just don't read it, and get away from my story. For those of you who actually like it, you're welcome to stay. Flamers, go screw yourselves. It's FANFICTION, not anime scripts. ;)  
_

Already in Flowerbed Town, Matt didn't have time to stop and smell the countless flowers that covered the ground beneath his feet. He had to hurry over to the Pokémon Center!

By the time he found it, it was already nighttime. Matt ran inside and as soon as he got to the counter, he told the nurse, "Nurse! My Pokémon were injured! Please, hurry up and treat them!"

The nurse quickly typed in the computer and told Matt, "We'll take good care of them. Give me their Poké Balls, and wait in the waiting room." Matt handed over the Poké Balls to the nurse and sat down in a chair, worried about his two only friends at the moment.

Ten minutes later, the nurse came back and told him, "Your Pokémon will be just fine, but they need to spend the night here. I suggest you go upstairs into one of the rooms and turn in for the night, it's already quite late. Good night, Trainer." And with those words, she went back into the room where Matt's Pokémon were being treated.

Up to now, Matt's journey has been laced with bad luck, he thought. He couldn't find any Pokémon at first, he was chased by an angry flock of Swellow and now, the first Pokémon he had ever captured was in the emergency room. Fantastic. Even Igglybuff was injured! Maybe he just wasn't cut out for this...

But he couldn't be thinking this way. Not now, when he was already on the road. His Pokémon depended on him!

He was very tired. Running away from a flock of angry Swellow was no easy task. He went upstairs into a room, just like the nurse told him and turned in for the night, hoping that his Pokémon would be feeling better in the morning.

The next day, Matt went down to the lobby and asked the nurse for his Pokémon. He got them back, and they were ok! He felt relieved now. But now what?

"Uh, nurse, I just came from Northwind Village, and I'm a Pokémon Trainer. What am I supposed to do now?" He felt like he was asking a stupid question.

"Why, now you're supposed to take your first Gym challenge! The Gym's right here on this town. The Trainers there specialize in Grass Pokémon, and the Leader's name is Aster. You have to go there and defeat the Gym Leader in a Pokémon Battle!"

A Pokémon Battle. The mention of these words made Matt kinda nervous, but he had to do it. He had to get over his fears already, they were driving him insane!

"Perfect, Nurse... Uh... What's your name? I never asked, sorry..."

"My name's Joy! You'll be seeing a lot from me in your journey, trust me," she said in a slight comedic tone.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy! Bye!" And with that, Matt left the Pokémon Center in search of the Gym.

After some time walking around town, Matt stumbled across a glass building with plants inside, a greenhouse. "This must be the Gym," he thought.

He knocked on the door and called, "Hello? Anybody home?"

The door opened by itself, revealing the inside of the greenhouse. The place was quite hot, and there were plants everywhere. Matt hoped there wouldn't be any Bug Pokémon, since he was scared of them.

He walked inside the place and searched for Aster, the Gym Leader. Suddenly, Matt heard a loud voice. "Who goes there?"

"Uh... Me?"

"Who is this "Me" you're referring to? Are you a challenger?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm a challenger, but please, don't scare me like that! Show yourself!"

As soon as Matt asked for the Leader to show himself, a teenager with black, spiky hair and a green shirt and cape jumped from a nearby tree and landed in front of him, with enough space for a battle to take place between them.

"I am Aster, Flowerbed Town's Gym Leader! My Pokémon are all of the Grass type!"

"My name is Matt, and I'm from Northwind Village! I came to challenge you to a battle!"

"Fine! We'll use two Pokémon each! I'll begin. Go, Oddish!"

Aster threw a Poké Ball and a round, blue Pokémon with leaves on its head appeared. "Oddish!" the Pokémon cried angrily.

Matt gulped and took a Poké Ball from his belt. "Go, Igglybuff!" he said as he threw the Poké Ball, and the pink, plushy Pokémon materialized in front of him.

Aster smirked. "An Igglybuff, huh? This should be easy. Oddish, use Stun Spore!" The Oddish jumped in the air, shook its leaves and a yellow cloud of spores covered the field. Luckily, Matt knew about Igglybuff's bouncing abilities from his father's lessons.

"Jump into a tree, Igglybuff, and dodge the Stun Spore!" Matt ordered. "Iggly!" the Pokémon said happily before bouncing onto a tree branch, safely dodging the spores. "Now, use your Sing attack, Igglybuff!"

The pink Pokémon cleared its throat and started singing an adorable lullaby, which quickly sent Oddish into a deep slumber. "Perfect, Igglybuff, now use your Pound!" Matt ordered.

Igglybuff came down from the tree, fell in front of the sleeping Oddish and punched it so hard it flew across the battlefield and finally crashed into a tree.

"Oh no, Oddish!" Aster said, concerned about his Pokémon. He ran towards Oddish and kneeled beside it. "Are you ok, Oddish?" its trainer asked him, and the Pokémon uttered a small "Odd..." in response. "You deserve some rest, Oddish," he said before recalling it into its Poké Ball.

"You're good, kiddo, but there's no way you can beat my Cherrim. Go!"

Aster pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it into the battlefield. A strange Pokémon covered by big purple petals materialized in front of them. "Cherrim!" the Pokémon cried.

At the sight of the Pokémon, Matt started getting nervous. "If we let our guard down, we're gonna lose this!" he thought. "Igglybuff, use your Sing! Lull that Pokémon to sleep!"

Igglybuff sang her lullaby, but Cherrim didn't fall asleep. "What? It didn't work!" Matt said, now visibly shaky.

Aster smirked, and then said, "Of course it doesn't work! The petals cover Cherrim's ears, so it can't hear sound based attacks! It's over, kiddo. Cherrim, use your Petal Dance!"

Cherrim started spinning, and a stream of pink petals spun around it. The Pokémon spinned like a top, dashed against Igglybuff and struck the puffy Pokémon, making it crash against a tree.

"Igglybuff! No!" Matt ran towards his defeated Pokémon. "Iggly... Buff...," the Pokémon whimpered. Matt returned his Pokémon into its Poké Ball, and said "You're gonna pay for this, Aster! Azurill, go!"

The blue mouse-like Pokémon materialized on the field and adorably cried, "Azurill!"

"Real cute, kid. That tiny little rat doesn't stand a chance against my Cherrim! Hit it with the Petal Dance, Cherrim!"

The Pokémon spun again, petals spinning around it. It then tackled Azurill, who didn't even got a chance to react. The tiny blue Pokémon flew a few feet above the air after being tackled and ended up stuck in a tree branch. "Azuuuriiiill! Azuuuuriiiill!" it cried loudly.

Without saying a word, Matt returned Azurill to its Poké Ball and left the Gym at top speed. He was too embarassed to face Aster after losing his first ever Gym Battle. He quickly took his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center and while they were being healed, he thought of his next move. "I lost the battle, so I guess I gotta train my Pokémon now...," he thought. "I'm going farther north to train," he said to himself after getting his Pokémon back. There were stories about how dangerous and cold the north was, but he didn't care. The harsher the place, the better the training his team got. And so, Matt departed Flowerbed Town, but he would return to challenge Aster again after he became stronger.


End file.
